Lifespan Development Research Articles

WHAT ARE WE MISSING? Problems with using generational cohorts in leadership research and suggestions for a better direction.

The rising costs of recruiting and hiring workers and the seismic shift of age demographics in the United States workforce has created much stir around the concept of generational cohorts. Although much has been done by researchers and practitioners alike to attempt a better understanding of each generational group’s leadership preferences, confusing and contradictory results has attracted much criticism. This critique has inspired efforts to look at the concept of leadership and followership preference through an alternative lifespan developmental lens. Because leadership influences are inherently social influences, a person’s overall lifespan development level may potentially provide a deeper perspicacity of the phenomenon than examining it from the more conventional generational cohort perspective. However, specific research into this area is lacking. This paper adds to the literature by uncovering what we are missing in research and practice when we look at age-related leadership phenomena solely from a generational cohort perspective. A review of the contradicting literature on generational cohorts and leadership is offered. Next, specific lifespan developmental theories are examined, and propositions and implications of such research are extended.

Lifespan changes in postural control

Lifespan development of postural control shows as an inverted U-shaped function with optimal performance in young adults and similar levels of underperformance in children and older adults. However, similarities in children and older adults might conceal differences in underlying control processes. We mapped out age-related differences in postural control using center-of-pressure trajectories of 299 participants ranging from 7 to 81 years old in three tasks: stable stance, compromised vision, and narrowed base of support. Summary statistics (path length, ellipse area) replicated the well-known U-shape function also showing that compromising vision and narrowing the base of support affected older adults more than children. Stabilogram diffusion analysis (SDA) allows to assess postural control performance in terms of diffusion at short (< 1 s) and longer timescales. SDA parameters showed the strongest short-term drift in older adults, especially under compromised vision or narrowed base of support conditions. However, older adults accommodated their poor short-term control by corrective adjustments as reflected in long-term diffusion under eyes closed conditions and initiating anti-persistent behavior earlier compared with children and young adults in tandem stance. We argue that these results highlight the adaptability of the postural control system and warrant a reinterpretation of previous postural control frameworks.

Worker aging, control, and well-being: A specification curve analysis

Among the many work (and life) characteristics of relevance to adult development and aging, various forms of control are some of the most extensively and diversely studied. Indeed, “control,” whether objectively held (i.e., “actual” control), perceived, or enacted through self-regulation, is a concept central to our understanding of person-environment interactions, development, and well-being within and across life domains. However, variability in conceptualization and analysis in the literature on control presents challenges to integration. To partially address these gaps, the present study sought to explore the effects of conceptual and analytical specification decisions (e.g., construct types, time, covariates) on observed control-well-being relationships in a large, age-diverse, longitudinal sample (Midlife in the United States I, II, and III datasets), providing a specification curve analysis (SCA) tutorial and guidance in the process. Results suggest that construct types and operationalizations, particularly predictor variables, have bearing on observed results, with certain types of control serving as better predictors of various forms of well-being than others. These findings and identified gaps are summarized to provide direction for theoretical clarification and reconciliation in the control and lifespan development literatures, construct selection and operationalization in future aging and work research, and inclusive, well-specified interventions to improve employee well-being.

Supplemental Material for Does Personality Always Matter for Health? Examining the Moderating Effect of Age on the Personality-Health Link From Life Span Developmental and Aging Perspectives

Supplemental Material for Does Personality Always Matter for Health? Examining the Moderating Effect of Age on the Personality-Health Link From Life Span Developmental and Aging Perspectives

Inception of Life on the Pendulum of Death: Common Paradigms and Uncommon Narratives on the Polemics between Birthers and Abortionists

Obvious crevices of digression are discernible in the ongoing discourses on conception, women and reproductive rights, and abortion. Against this backdrop, this paper sets out to explore existing thoughts on the bio-physiological processes of conception and pregnancy, epigenetics, and the impact of trauma on the continuum of human psychological development with a view to accentuating the critical intersection of the emerging discourses. By dissecting the conflated and intricate leanings on the opposite sides of the treatise, the paper goes beyond the current paradigm that merely proffers a time frame at which it might be appropriate to legitimize termination of pregnancy (in other words, abort a baby without attracting punitive attention of the state) and advance more creative theorizing, which raises the question of power balance and discipline. Ours is a discussion paper, covering a methodical synopsis of discourses, definitions, aims, philosophical leanings and content analysis of major postulations, and highlights of their operational intricacies. The paper hypothesized that a single-cell blastocyst is a developing human being and engaging discourses on power and discipline, it further explored the influences of epigenetics on lifespan development, and how this impinges on women’s right over their reproductive bodies. The paper adopts the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), and black feminist thought to deconstruct and trouble the essentialized notion of women’s reproductive rights, which are fundamentally colonial, and western in nature. Using qualitative content analysis of existing secondary materials, we foreground the paradigm shifts on the contended topic. By so doing, the paper mapped out a more flexible direction for understanding the disequilibrium of power on the core premises of the argument divides. Our paper provides uncluttered lenses for scrutinizing the socio-medical procedures involving women’s right to their procreative bodies on one hand, and the unborn babies’ choice of life on the other, thus creating a broader and more objective rostrum for further discussion and scholarly contribution on the concepts.

Benefits of Volunteerism across the Life Span

Volunteers bring support and validation to those who are marginalized in society. Further, volunteers serve as a means of care and concern that extends the mission and programmatic objectives of human service organizations. Volunteers are beneficial to society. However, there are critical benefits to volunteering that make being a volunteer worthwhile. The model for this discussion is three areas of development: personal development, skills development and values development across the life span. These areas of development impact the growth of individuals psychosocially, their abilities as well as their beliefs that would catapult them into adulthood. This chapter presents the benefits of volunteering and discusses its relationship to life span development perspective. It concludes with a summative narrative of the outcomes’ connection to social justice.

Perceived discrimination in the workplace and mental health from early adulthood to midlife.

Considerable evidence demonstrates that perceiving oneself as an object of discrimination has negative consequences for mental health. However, little is known about whether this experience is more or less harmful in distinct phases of the life course, consistent with the life course principle of timing; or whether, in accord with the principle of lifespan development, it has long-term implications. We draw on longitudinal data addressing perceived workplace discrimination based on race/ethnicity and gender from the prospective Youth Development Study, covering early adulthood to midlife. Hierarchical linear modelling of the effects of discrimination on depressed mood indicates that both forms of discrimination have short-term (within life stages) and long-term (across stages) adverse effects on adult mental health. The impacts of perceived discrimination within stages on depressed mood appear to be greatest in the mid-30s and to weaken by midlife. Lingering effects of discrimination are more pronounced early on. These patterns are observed with controls for key time-varying negative experiences at work and personal socio-economic status, as well as invariant background characteristics (gender, race and parental socio-economic status). We consider these findings in relation to the dynamics of personal change in the context of occupational careers.

노년기의 내러티브 경험 서사 활동 참여를 통한 사회·문화적자아정체성의 변화에 관한 연구

This study examined to explore the process of changing social and cultural self-identitythrough participation in narrative activities in old age. To do this, the activity consisting of 15sessions was constructed in consideration of the life-span development process. As s result, itwas possible to examine the process of changing social and cultural self-identity in three stages. In the first stage of 1-5 sessions, it was found that self-exploration and identification werestarted in social relationships with caregivers, brothers, and sisters in the early stages of life. Inaddition, in the second stage of 6-11 sessions, it was found that friends and rational friends assurrounding characters, and social and cultural situations as marriage and child birth form aself-relationship. Finally, in the third stage of 12-15 sessions, it was found that a new form ofsocial and cultural self-identity was formed in the second half of life ahead of death by sharingthe experiences so far with others, families, and community members. This suggests that socialand cultural self-identity in old age can be reformed and restructured through narrative activitiesin old age.

THE PHENOMENON OF LIFE PERSPECTIVE IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY OF PERSONALITY

Abstract. The article presents the concept of "life perspective" in different study approaches of this phenomenon. The main authors and theories that most fully reveal the concept of life perspective are noted. The difference in the approach to the study of life prospects in domestic and foreign psychology is determined. The main foreign theories are described, including AAC (assimilative / accommodative coping), MTLD (the motivational theory of lifespan development), SOC (selection, optimization and compensation), SST (socioemotional selectivity theory). The results of the meta-analysis of the basic researches devoted to this construct are noted. The nature of the relationship between time perspective and such phenomenon as sociometric indicators, psychological well-being, behavioral characteristics, responsibility etc. The main internal approaches are indicated. Аmong them are systemic, event and others approches. The basic parameters, functions, features, structure of a time perspective are defined. The main parameters include depth, structure, realism, consistency, duration and optimism. It consists of value-semantic, emotional-evaluative, cognitive and organizational components. The concept of self-design is indicated, the structure of it includes awareness of goals, value-semantic formations, individual-personal opportunities and social conditions. The influence of life aspirations and life plans on the further development of life prospects is indicated.

Religious Tolerance and Its Connection with Parenting Style: Examining from Four Dimensions

Religious tolerance is a fundamental part of Indonesia, a country with diversity in religions and beliefs. As an attempt to serve social, political, and cultural stability among groups in Indonesia, Indonesians agreed to live together in harmony through the Pancasila, where all religions and beliefs must be honored. Therefore, specific beliefs and attitudes in how we live in Indonesia must be addressed since early childhood through education in school, public, and family. Parenting style becomes one of the significant issues affecting children's life span development so that they can be excellent as the future generation. This argument is constructed based on the previous studies that parenting style affects the perception and behavior of children. Therefore, this study examines the connection between parenting style and religious tolerance as the dependent variable. The result shows that based on four dimensions of parenting style, participants with the authoritative style show a higher score on the religious tolerance scale. In contrast, participants with neglecting style tend to have the lowest score in religious tolerance. This result reveals that parenting might be considered in child development and fulfilling child rights.

GOAL ADJUSTMENT CAPACITIES DURING COVID-19: CONTEXT-DEPENDENT BENEFITS FOR EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

Abstract Increased constraints and lost opportunities inherent in the COVID-19 pandemic can threaten important life goals and erode emotional well-being. Theories of lifespan development have identified goal adjustment capacities (goal disengagement and goal reengagement) as core self-regulatory resources that can buffer against declines in well-being. However, little is known about the pandemic-related contextual circumstances under which goal adjustment capacities may become more or less beneficial for well-being. Using longitudinal data from a nationally-representative sample of Americans across the adult lifespan (aged 18-80, n=286), we examined the consequences of goal adjustment capacities for emotional well-being under circumstances when individuals reported lower or higher constraints than normal in their lives. Specifically, multilevel models tested whether the influence of between-person differences in (Level 2) goal disengagement and goal reengagement on well-being were moderated by (Level 1) within-person fluctuations in perceived constraints. Analyses controlled for age, sex, education, and income. We observed cross-level Goal Reengagement x Perceived Constraints interactions for depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and positive affect (bs = -.11 to .07, ps &amp;lt; .05), but not negative affect. Results showed that the benefits of goal reengagement for depressive symptoms, perceived stress, and positive affect were pronounced on occasions when participants reported lower (vs. higher) than average perceived constraints in their lives. Findings point to the moderating role of pandemic-related contextual circumstances and suggest that goal reengagement may be most beneficial when individuals have fewer constraints than usual in their lives and may thus able to capitalize on opportunities to pursue new attainable goals.

Life Span Development of Self-Continuity in late Adulthood: The Impact of Chronological Age, Loss of Partner and Aversive Childhood Events

ABSTRACT Self-continuity is a central process of identity that connects one’s past and present. Research is limited regarding the life-course determinants of self-continuity and its development in later life. We used multilevel hierarchical models to investigate how the occurrence of life-course adversity (e.g., childhood adversity or partner loss) and the accumulation of resources shapes the perception of self-continuity in mid and later life, with respect to both their levels and changes over time. A three-wave longitudinal data set was used. The sample consisted of divorcees (n = 396), widows and widowers (n = 319), and married individuals (control; n = 513) in the second half of life. The divorcees had the lowest levels of self-continuity compared to the married and widowed individuals. Self-continuity increased with age for all marital status groups but followed differential trajectories. The divorcees were the most vulnerable group regarding their level and development of self-continuity. More childhood adversity was associated with less self-continuity for all groups, showing the influence of distal adversity on later life identity processes. Our findings illustrate that self-continuity changes as a function of age but differs based on the adverse events experienced across the life course.

Learning While Working:

As the demand for lifelong learning increases, many working adults have turned to online graduate education in order to update their skillsets and pursue advanced credentials. Simultaneously, the volume of data available to educators and scholars interested in online learning continues to rise. This study seeks to extend learning analytics applications typically oriented toward understanding student interaction with course content, instructors, and peers to the program level in order to gain insight into the ways in which adult learners manage their learning progress over multiple courses and multiple semesters. Using optimal matching analysis, we identify four distinct profiles of course enrollment behaviour among 1,801 successful graduates of an online master’s program that differ with respect to course load, semesters off, and graduation speed. We found that profiles differed significantly as a function of age and knowledge background, but not with respect to gender, ethnicity, or previous academic performance. Findings indicate the utility of expanding learning analytics focused on the micro-level of analysis to the macro-level of analysis and the utility of grounding learning analytics applications geared toward adult learners in a lifespan development perspective. Implications for program design and educational interventions are discussed.

Maternal Early Life Adversity and Infant Stress Regulation: Intergenerational Associations and Mediation by Maternal Prenatal Mental Health

Early life adversity is a potent risk factor for poor mental health outcomes across the lifespan, including offspring vulnerability to psychopathology. Developmentally, the prenatal period is a sensitive window in which maternal early life experiences may influence offspring outcomes and demarcates a time when expectant mothers and offspring are more susceptible to stressful and salutary influences. This prenatal plasticity constituted the focus of the current study where we tested the association of maternal early life adversity with infant stress regulation through maternal prenatal internalizing symptoms and moderation by prenatal social support. Mother-infant dyads (n = 162) were followed prospectively and mothers completed assessments of social support and depressive and anxiety symptoms across pregnancy. Infants completed standardized stress paradigms at one month and six months. There were several key findings. First, maternal prenatal depressive symptoms significantly mediated predictions of infant cortisol reactivity to the heel stick at one month from maternal early life adversity: specifically, maternal early life adversity positively predicted depressive symptoms in pregnancy, which in turn predicted dampened infant cortisol reactivity. Second, prenatal social support did not significantly moderate predictions of depressive or anxiety symptoms in pregnancy from maternal early life adversity nor did it alter the associations of maternal depressive or anxiety symptoms with infant stress regulation. These results suggest that maternal prenatal mental health is a key mechanism by which maternal early life adverse experiences affect offspring risk for psychopathology. We discuss potential clinical and health implications of dysregulated infant cortisol reactivity with respect to lifespan development.

노년기 교육요구 분석을 위한 이론적 틀로서 McClusky 노년교육요구의 적용 타당성 탐구

As the elderly population grows and its dynamics change, there is an increasing demand for expanding the diversity of and improving the quality of old adult education programs. Therefore, as a theoretical framework for systematically analyzing the educational needs of the older adults, the applicability of McClusky's Educational Needs of the Ageing was examined. McClusky identified five educational needs: coping needs, expressive needs, contributive needs, influence needs, the need for transcendence. McClusky’s Educational Needs of the Ageing is an educational perspective based on life-span development, and it is a meaningful reference frame to evaluate the efficacy and comprehensiveness of an elderly education program.&#x0D; Through the evaluation of McClusky’s Educational Needs in terms of ageing discourse and changes in social approaches to old age, it was confirmed that while coping and expressive needs are the main focus of current old adult education programs, contributive, influence, and transcendence needs are equally important.&#x0D; Therefore, we argue that a balanced approach to the five Educational Needs is necessary. In addition, we re-evaluated the contributive, influence, and transcendence needs by reflecting on the evolution of societal perceptions on old age and role of the older adults.

Occupational Health of Education Personnel—The Role of Job Crafting and Other Control Strategies on Healthy Ageing at Work

This article looks at the strategies that influence healthy ageing at work from the motivational theory of life span development (MTD). It aims to better understand the influence of job crafting as a selective primary control, help-seeking as a compensatory primary control, positive reappraisal as a selective secondary control, and downward social comparison and downgrading expectation as a compensatory secondary control on healthy ageing at work (work engagement, health, and motivation to continue working after retirement). A total of 386 educational personnel participated in the study. This study used hierarchical regression analysis to test incremental validity, supplemented with confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling as a solution to solve the potential error problems caused. The results show that job crafting is positively correlated with healthy ageing at work. Positive reappraisal and downward social comparison showed incremental validity in predicting healthy ageing at work beyond job crafting among the middle-aged group (45-65-years-old); in particular, positive reappraisal was the determinant of healthy ageing at work among the middle-aged group. However, both help-seeking and downgrading expectation did not show incremental validity. This study can contribute to the evolution of career development interventions and human resource management focused on supporting older people at work.

Adult Life-Span Development Is Largely Missing From the PK-12 Health Standards: A Risk Factor for U.S. Society.

Scholars have lamented that the PK-12 system in the United States does not provide instruction about development across the life span. Indeed, graduates of the U.S. system tend to perform poorly on knowledge tests concerning middle and older adulthood and to agree with false information about aging (negative stereotypes of older adults). This study systematically reviewed for the first time the health education standards (HES) set by the board of education of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. HES were downloaded from each state's department of education website between September 25, 2021 and December 17, 2021 and then systematically coded. Almost all states (47-49) mentioned each of the 8 National Health Education Standards, suggesting compliance with national guidelines which are not specific to adult life-span development. Whereas all states' HES referred to instruction concerning childhood (n = 51) and adolescence (n = 51), few states' HES referred to instruction about early adulthood (n = 22), middle adulthood (n = 9), and late adulthood (n = 11). Only 23 states mentioned an intention, broadly-speaking, to cover instruction concerning all of life-span development. These findings reveal a hole in U.S. HES concerning early to late adulthood and a risk factor for society. These findings signal an alarm on the significant, overdue need for PK-12 education about life-span development, especially with rapid population aging and the far-reaching negative effect of poor aging knowledge on ageism as well as the health and well-being of all age individuals.

Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration of the Central Nervous System from Air Pollutants: A Scoping Review.

In this scoping review, we provide a selective mapping of the global literature on the effects of air pollution on the life-span development of the central nervous system. Our synthesis first defines developmental neurotoxicants and the model effects of particulate matter. We then discuss air pollution as a test bench for neurotoxicants, including animal models, the framework of systemic inflammation in all affected organs of the body, and the cascade effects on the developing brain, with the most prevalent neurological structural and functional outcomes. Specifically, we focus on evidence on magnetic resonance imaging and neurodegenerative diseases, and the links between neuronal apoptosis and inflammation. There is evidence of a developmental continuity of outcomes and effects that can be observed from utero to aging due to severe or significant exposure to neurotoxicants. These substances alter the normal trajectory of neurological aging in a propulsive way towards a significantly higher rate of acceleration than what is expected if our atmosphere were less polluted. The major aggravating role of this neurodegenerative process is linked with the complex action of neuroinflammation. However, most recent evidence learned from research on the effects of COVID-19 lockdowns around the world suggests that a short-term drastic improvement in the air we breathe is still possible. Moreover, the study of mitohormesis and vitagenes is an emerging area of research interest in anti-inflammatory and antidegenerative therapeutics, which may have enormous promise in combatting the deleterious effects of air pollution through pharmacological and dietary interventions.

Those who need it the most get it the least: Age specific reciprocal effects between social support and mental strain

Socioemotional selectivity theory and models of lifespan development of resources suggest that older workers may particularly benefit from social resources so as to maintain their well-being throughout their work-life span. However, the age-differential effects of social support at work have been rarely investigated. We hypothesised that age moderates the effects of colleagues' and supervisors' social support on mental strain, with strongest effects for older workers. A two-wave complete panel design (six months' time lag) was used. Self-reports from N = 334 nurses (age: 21–63 years) were gathered with established questionnaires: strain was measured by means of the irritation scale; social support from colleagues and supervisors by using a German adaptation of the social support scales. We proved factorial validity and measurement invariance across time points (CFA) and computed path models (SEM). As expected, age moderated the negative longitudinal effects of colleagues' social support on mental strain. Older nurses (≥45 years) benefited the most from colleagues' social support. However, mental strain in older nurses was associated with reduced social support from colleagues. Surprisingly with middle-aged nurses (35–44 years) an increase in colleagues' social support resulted in higher mental strain. No effects for supervisor support were observed. Results indicate that social support by colleagues is an important resource for older workers, but older workers are less likely to receive social support when mental strain is present. Moreover, the timing of social support across the work lifespan seems to be critical, as it might have detrimental effects in middle-aged workers.

Work Ability Mediates the Relationships between Personal Resources and Work Engagement

Research on job resources suggests strong links with work engagement, but less is known about its association with personal resources and possible mechanisms linking personal resources to work engagement. Based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and lifespan development theories, we develop and test a model of the indirect relationships between personal resources (i.e., adaptive coping in the form of selection, optimization, and compensation and personal health in the form of subjective health complaints) and work engagement through work ability. To test this model, a sample of employees (n = 520) was recruited from a panel of employed older (i.e., aged 40+) workers. Results suggest that work ability mediates the relationships between selection, optimization, and compensation and subjective health complaints and work engagement.